Crystal grinding device



April 29, 1947. s l 2,419,739

CRYSTAL GRINDING DEVICE Filed Jan. 4, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 29,1947.

A. SPINA CRYSTAL GRINDING DEVIICE' Filed Jan. 4, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR ANTHONY 5mm A'I'T RNEY April 29, 1947. A I A 2,419,739

CRYSTAL GRINDING DEVICE Filed Jan. 4, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 April 29.1947. A, H A 2,419,739

CRYSTAL GRINDING DEVI CE INVE'N'I'OR ANTHONY EPINA b Patented Apr. 29,1947 't UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CRYSTAL GRINDING DEVICE AnthonySpina, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application January 4, 1946, Serial No. 638,987

6 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in an automaticcrystal grinder.

More specifically, the present invention relates to a machine forautomatically grinding a plurality of crystals at once, means beingprovided for insuring a level bearing of the face of the crystal to beground on the flat surface of the grinding stone, each crystal beingrotated about its axis as it is being ground.

Another object is to provide means for stopping the rotating of any onecrystal without affecting the grinding of the other crystals.

A further object is to provide means for rocking the crystal holder sothat an even grinding of the crystal is assured.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects andadvantages thereof, reference will be had to the following descriptionand accompanying drawings, and to the appended claims in which thevarious novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation partly in section, of a machineconstructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the automatic crystal grinder.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, showing an enlargeddetailed view of a portion shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view partly in section, showing a modifiedform of crystal holder.

Fig. 5 is a plan viewof a modified type of crystal rotater adapted to beused in place of the crystal rotater of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a side view of the crystal rotater of Fig. 5, parts beingomitted. V Y

The automatic crystal grinder machine, 'ac cording to this invention,comprises. a base in on which a pan-cylinder l l is supported by meansof legs l2. An inclined holder l3 for a powdered grinding compound ismounted on a wall 01'' the pan, it having a port M at its lowest point.A water faucet I5 is also mounted on the wall over the holder 13. Waterdripping from the faucet will moisten the powder and keep a smalltrickle falling through the port H.

The boss I6 is secured on the bottom :wall of the base and this boss hasa threadedbore I1 in which is adjustably screwed a thrust bearing l8supporting a vertical main shaft [9. Boss I6 is provided with a setscrew Ili for vertical adjustment of thrust bearing l8. The shaft l9extends through the bottom wall ll of the pan and through bearings 20 atthe bottom and top sides of the bottom wall of the pan. v A spacer 2! ismounted on the shaft on top of the top hear: ing 23, then a disc 22,then a circular grinding wheel or stone 23, then another disc 24 andfinally a nut 25. The topmost end of shaft I9 is provided with threads26.

Above the thrust bearing 18 a pulley 21 is mounted on the shaft and thispulley is adapted to be belt driven by an electric motor or the like(not shown). Above the pulley a gear 28 is secured to the shaft. Gear 28meshes with an idler 29 of a larger size, which meshes with anotheridler 30. A small gear 3| is mounted on top of gear 39 and this mesheswith a gear 32 larger than gear 31 but smaller than the gear 29. Theshafts of all the ears are in a line and the idlers are mounted onshafts secured to the pan bottom wall. This arrangement of gears makesone gear set. The gears are shielded by a cylindrical projection I2Referring to Fig. 3, it will be seen that another gear meshes with gear3|, this other gear be-' ing in another seat and being indicated by thenumeral 33. It meshes with a large gear 34 which has a small gear 3P onit meshing with a gear 32 gear 31 being like gear 3| and gear 32 beinglike gear 32. r I

There are two other trains of gears driven by the gear 23 and thesetrains are similar to that already described so no further descriptionthereof is deemed necessary, the same reference numeral being used toindicate likeparts. Thus there are six gears 32-32% and these six gearsturn six drive shafts 35. The mechanism associated with each shaft 35 isthe same and therefore only one will be described.

Shaft 35 extends upwardly through a housing 36 mounted on top of thebottom wall of the pan. Housing 36 has a casing 31 extending radiallyover the stone. There are six housings and siX casings and thus sixcrystals can be ground simultaneously, as will presently appear.

- Shaft 35 extendsthrough a bearing 38 in the housing and thereabove theshaft is square and is telescoped in a vertically slidable sleeve 39 ontop of which is a collar 40 and thereabove a bevel gear 4|. Lugs 42 onthe housing wall below the collar 40 secure the bottom ends ofcompression springs 43 which seat at their tops under the collar 40,urging the collar and hence the bevel gear upwards.

The lever 44 is pivoted in the housing wall and this lever has at itsinner end and pivotally connected thereto, a depending dog 45 whichbears against the collar 40. If the lever 44 is lifted, the dog ispushed down, pushing the collar and bevel gear down. A latch 46 ispivoted to the housing above the lever and it has a hook 47 for hookingover a pin l8 on the lever for holding the lever in raised position whendesired.

A worm 49 is mounted in the casing and it has a bevel gear 50 at itsinner end in mesh with gear 4| to be driven thereby. When lever 44 israised, these gears are put out of mesh so that the worm ceases torotate.

A guide 5| is formed in the casing along side of the worm and a carriage52 is mounted in this guide and has set screws 53 for locking it in anyadjusted position longitudinally of the guide. The carriage carries aworm wheel 54 in mesh with the worm, the worm wheel shaft 55 dependingand having a square bore 56 opening downwardly. A chuck 51 is secured bymeans of a square stem 58 in bore 58.

A crystal holder 59, is secured in the chuck, the holder having a squarestem 60 secured in the chuck by a set screw 6|. A rubber cap 84 issecured to the holder 59. The cap has a concave bottom face which restson top of the crystal 66 to be ground and holds it against the flat topface of the stone.

The operation of the machine is as follows: There are six caps 64 and acrystal is placed under each one with the surface to be ground restingon top of the flat stone. The motor is then started, turning the mainshaft I9 by means of the pulley 21.

When the main shaft rotates, the mill 23 rotates and all the gearsrotate, rotating all the six shafts 35. Thus all the worms rotate,rotating the worm wheeis 54 and thus the chuck 51 and the caps 64.

Should it be desired to stop one crystal from rotating, its correlatedlever 44 is lifted, disengaging the bevel gears. However, the stonestill rotates and still grinds the crystal. If it is desired to stopgrinding one crystal, its correlated set screw 6| is loosened and thecorrelated cap 64 raised and the crystal removed. This can be donewithout disturbing the grinding of the remaining crystals.

In Figs. 4 to 6 a modified arrangement is shown for rocking the cap 64'.This modified arrangement constitutes extra equipment, and all theaforedescribed parts of the machine are utilized. Thus the constructionshown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 which is not shown in Figs. 1-3 is really anattachment which may be used with the machine or not as desired. Itincludes a casing 65 which may be secured to the housing 36 byconventional securing means such as bolts. Two parallel shafts 67 arejournalled in this casing and two cams, 58, extending in oppositedirections are secured on the shafts. The ends of the shafts are gearedtogether by gears 69 and one shaft has a bevel gear 10 on its endmeshing with a bevel gear H which will be secured on shaft 35'. The camsare disposed under the bar 62' on opposite sides of the stem 60'connected by a bolt to bar 62 and as the shafts 61 rotate, the camsalternately lift opposite sides of the bar 62', rocking same and gentlyrocking the cap 64 by means of link members 63. This vibrates thecrystal a bit without unseating it and insures a level bearing on therotating stone 23.

The bar 62 is weighted with two balls 12 secured on top of its ends,these weights effecting a load on the crystal holding it tightly on thestone with the necessary pressure. These weights can be replaced byother weights to vary the weight depending on how much pressure isneeded. In the embodiment of Fig. 1, the chuck weight is usuallysufficient, but Weights similar to the weights 72 may also be used ifdesired.

The machine of the present invention also permits adjustment of thecrystal radially of the stone so that all parts of the stone surface canbe utilized. This adjustment is effected by loosening the set screws 53and. moving the carriage 52 along the guide 5| to any desired position,whereupon the set screws are tightened up again.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of myinvention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to theprecise constructions herein disclosed and the right is reserved to allchanges and modifications coming within the scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. An automatic crystal grinding machine comprising a base, a panmounted on said base, a

-: thrust bearing mounted on said base and supporting a vertical mainshaft extending through said base and pan, a pulley on said shaftwhereby said shaft may be rotated, a grinding stone on said shaft insaid pan, means for feeding a grinding compound to said stone, a housingextending vertically at one side of said stone, a casing extendinghorizontally from the upper portion of said housing over said stone, adriving shaft in said housing, a gear train driving said driving shaftfrom said main shaft, a worm in said casing, gears connecting said wormand driving shaft whereby said worm is rotated by said driving shaft, acarriage slidably mounted in said casing, a vertical depending shaftmounted in said carriage and a worm wheel on said depending shaftconnecting it to said worm, a chuck secured to the end of said dependingshaft, and a crystal holder secured in said chuck including a body and acap flexibly connected to said body and having a concave bottom face forholding a crystal on said stone, whereby rotation of said main shaftrotates said stone and said driving shaft and said driving shaft rotatessaid worm and said chuck, thereby rotating said crystal, said drivingshaft being formed of two telescoped sections, spring means normallyholding the upper of said two sections upwardly maintaining gearedconnection with said worm, and means for forcing said upper section downagainst the resistance of said spring means to break said gearedconnection with said worm.

2. An automatic crystal grinding machine comprising a base, a panmounted on said base, a thrust bearing mounted on said base andsupporting a vertical main shaft extending through said base and pan, apulley on said shaft whereby said shaft may be rotated, grinding stoneon said shaft in said pan, means for feeding a grinding compound to saidstone, a housing extending vertically at one side of said stone, acasing extending horizontally from the upper portion of said housingover said stone, at driving shaft in said housing, a gear train drivingsaid driving shaft from said main shaft, a, worm in said casing, gearsconnecting said worm and driving shaft whereby said worm is rotated bysaid drivingshaft, a carriage slidably mounted in said casing, avertical depending shaft mounted in said carriage and a Worm wheel onsaid depending shaft connecting it to said worm, a chuck secured to theend of said depending shaft, and a crystal holder secured in said chuckincluding a body and a cap flexibly connected to said body and having aconcave bottom face for holding a crystal on said stone, wherebyrotation of said main shaft rotates said stone and said driving shaftand said driving shaft rotates said worm and said chuck, therebyrotating said crystal, said gear train connecting said main and drivingshafts including a gear on said main shaft, an idler meshed therewith,another idler meshed with said first idler and having a, small gear onits shaft, and a gear on said driving shaft in mesh with said smallgear.

3. An automatic crystal grinding machine comprising a base, a, panmounted on said base, a thrust bearing mounted on said base andsupporting a vertical main shaft extending through said base and pan, apulley on said shaft whereby said shaft may be rotated, a grinding stoneon said shaft in said pan, means for feeding a grinding compound to saidstone, a housing extending vertically at one side of said stone, acasing extending horizontally from the upper portion of said housingover said stone, a driving shaft in said housing, a gear train drivingsaid driving shaft from said main shaft, a worm in said casing, gearsconnecting said worm and driving shaft whereby said worm is rotated bysaid driving shaft, a carriage slidably mounted in said casing, avertical depending shaft mounted in said carriage and a worm wheel onsaid depending shaft connecting it to said worm, a chuck secured to theend of said depending shaft, and a crystal holder secured in said chuckincluding a body and a cap flexibly connected to said body and having aconcave bottom face for holding a crystal on said stone, wherebyrotation of said main shaft rotates said stone and said driving shaftand said driving shaft rotates said worm and said chuck, therebyrotating said crystal, said gear train connecting said main and drivingshafts including a gear on said main shaft, an idler meshed therewith,another idler meshed with said first idler and having a small gear onits shaft, and a gear on said driving shaft in mesh with said smallgear, another driving shaft spaced from and parallel to said firstdriving shaft, and a gear train connecting said other driving shaft tosaid small gear, said other driving shaft being part of a mechanism forholding another crystal.

4. An automatic crystal grinding machine comprising a base, a panmounted on said base, a thrust bearing mounted on said base andsupporting a vertical main shaft extending through said base and pan, apulley on said shaft whereby said shaft may be rotated, a grinding stoneon said shaft in said pan, means for feeding a, grinding compound tosaid stone, 2, housing extending vertically at one side of said stone, acasing extending horizontally from the upper portion of said housingover said stone, a driving shaft in said housing, a gear train drivingsaid driving shaft from said main shaft, a worm in said casing, gearsconnecting said worm and driving shaft whereby said worm is rotated bysaid driving shaft, a carriage slidably mounted in said casing, avertical depending shaft mounted in said carriage and a worm wheel onsaid depending shaft connecting it to said worm, a chuck secured totheend of said depending driving shaft, and a crystal holder secured insaid chuck including 'a body and a cap flexibly connected to said bodyand having a concave bottom face for holding a crystal on said stone,whereby rotation of said main shaft rotates said stone and said drivingshaft and said driving shaftrotates said worm and said chuck, therebyrotating said crystal and means for adjusting said thrust bearingvertically relative to said base for aligning said main shaft gear withthe adjacent gear of said train.

5. An automatic crystal grinding machine comprising a base, a panmounted on said base, a thrust bearing mounted on said base andsupporting a vertical main shaft extending through said base and pan, apulley on said shaft whereby said shaft may be rotated, a grinding stoneon said shaft in said pan, means for feeding a grinding compound to saidstone, a housing extending vertically at one side of said stone, acasing extending horizontally from the upper portion of said housingover said stone, a driving shaft in said housing, including twotelescoped sections, the upper section having a collar, said housinghaving lugs below said collar, and compression springs disposed betweensaid collar and lugs normally urging said upper section upwardly, alevel fulcrumed in said housing for pushing said collar and uppersection downwardly, a, latch for looking said lever in its position forholding said upper section downwardly, a gear train driving said drivingshaft from said main shaft, a worm in said casing, gears connecting saidworm and driving shaft upper section whereby said worm is rotated bysaid driving shaft and whereby said worm can be disconnected from saiddriving shaft by swinging said lever, a carriage slidably mounted insaid casing, a vertical depending shaft mounted in said carriage and aworm wheel on said depending shaft connecting it to said worm, a chucksecured to the end of said depending shaft, and a crystal holder securedin said chuck including a, body and a cap flexibly connected to saidbody and having a concave bottom face for holding a crystal on saidstone, whereby rotation of said main shaft rotates said stone and saiddriving shaft and said driving shaft rotates said worm and said chuck,thereby rotating said crystal.

6. An automatic crystal grinding machine comprising a base, a panmounted on said base, a thrust bearing mounted on said base andsupporting a vertical main shaft extending through said base and pan, apulley on said shaft whereby said shaft may be rotated, a grinding stoneon said shaft in said pan, means for feeding a grinding compound to saidstone, a plurality of housings extending vertically at the outercircumference of said stone, a casing extending horizontally from theupper portion of each housing over said stone, a driving shaft in eachhousing, a gear train driving each driving shaft from said main shaft, aworm in each casing, gears connecting each worm and its correlateddriving shaft whereby said worm is rotated by its said driving shafts, acarriage slidably mounted in each casing, a vertical depending shaftmounted in each carriage and a worm wheel on each depending shaftconnecting it to its said worm, a chuck secured to the end of eachdepending shaft, and a crystal holder secured in each chuck including abody and a cap flexibly connected to its said body and having a concavebottom face for holding a. crystal on said stone, whereby rotation ofsaid main shaft rotates said stone and said driving shafts and saiddriving shafts rotate said worms and said chucks, thereby rotating saidcrystals.

ANTHONY SPINA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

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